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Physics Flashcards

1
Q

Physical quantity

A

a quantity that can be measured and consists of a numerical magnitude and unit

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2
Q

scalar quantities

A

quantities that have magnitude only

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3
Q

vector quantities

A

quantities that have both magnitude and direction

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4
Q

distance

A

total length of travel irrespective of the direction of motion

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5
Q

displacement

A

distance moved in a specific direction

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6
Q

speed

A

rate of change of distance

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7
Q

velocity

A

distance travelled per unit time in a specified direction/ rate of change of displacement

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8
Q

acceleration

A

rate of change of velocity

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9
Q

Newton’s First Law of Motion

A

an object at rest will remain at rest and an object in motion will continue in motion at constant speed in a straight line in the absence of a resultant force acting on it

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10
Q

Newton’s Second Law of Motion

A

the resultant force acting upon an object is equal to the product of the mass and the acceleration of the object; the direction of the force is the same as that of the object’s acceleration

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11
Q

Newton’s Third Law of Motion

A

If an object A exerts a force on object B then B exerts an equal but opposite force on A

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12
Q

Friction

A

a force that resists the relative motion of objects that are in contact with each other

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13
Q

Inertia

A

the reluctance of an object to change either its state of rest, or if it’s moving, its motion in a straight line

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14
Q

mass

A

measure of the amount of substance in the object

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15
Q

weight

A

force of gravity acting upon an object

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16
Q

gravitational field

A

a region in which a mass experiences a force due to gravitational attraction

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17
Q

gravitational field strength

A

gravitational force per unit mass

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18
Q

moment

A

moment of a force about a pivot is the product of the force and the perpendicular distance from the line of action of the force to the pivot

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19
Q

Principles of moments

A

when an object is in equilibrium, the sum of clockwise moments about any point is equal to the sum of anticlockwise moments about the same point

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20
Q

centre of gravity

A

point through which the entire weight of the object appears to act

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21
Q

stability

A

measure of a body’s ability to maintain its original position

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22
Q

pressure

A

force per unit area

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23
Q

energy

A

capacity to do work

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24
Q

work done

A

work done on an object is the product of the force acting on the object and the distance travelled in the direction of the force

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25
thermal energy
total kinetic energy of the atoms or molecules in the body
26
potential energy
energy stored in an object due to its shape, position or state
27
kinetic energy
energy a body possesses due to its motion
28
principle of conservation of energy
energy cannot be created or destroyed but only changes from one form to another. the total energy in an isolated system remains constant
29
power
rate of doing work
30
efficiency
ratio of the useful energy output to the total energy input expressed as a percentage
31
Brownian motion
haphazard movement of microscopic particles suspended in a fluid due to the uneven bombardment of the suspended particles by the molecules of the fluid
32
kinetic model of matter
all matter is made up of a large number of tiny atoms or molecules which are in continuous motion
33
internal energy
the combination of the total kinetic energy and potential energy of the molecules in the body
34
ice point
temperature of pure melting ice at standard atmospheric pressure
35
steam point
temperature at which pure boiling water changes into steam at standard atmospheric pressure
36
conduction
process by which thermal energy is transmitted through a medium from one particle to another
37
convection
process by which thermal energy is transmitted from one place to another by the movement of heated gas or liquid
38
radiation
process by which thermal energy is transferred by electromagnetic waves
39
heat capacity
the amount of thermal energy required to raise the temperature of the body by 1K or 1 degree Celsius
40
specific heat capacity
the amount of thermal energy required to raise the temperature of a unit mass of the substance by 1K or 1 degree celsius
41
melting
process whereby energy is supplied to change the state of a substance from solid to liquid, without a change in temperature
42
freezing
process of changing the state of a substance from liquid to solid without a change in temperature
43
boiling
process whereby energy is supplied to change the state of a substance from liquid to gas, without a change in temperature
44
condensation
process of changing the state of a substance from gas to liquid without a change in temperature
45
latent heat of fusion
energy needed to change the state of a substance from solid to liquid, without a change in temperature
46
latent heat of vaporisation
energy needed to change the state of a substance from liquid to gas, without a change in temperature
47
specific latent heat of fusion
the amount of thermal energy needed to change a unit mass of the substance from solid to liquid, without a change in temperature
48
specific latent heat of vaporisation
the amount of thermal energy needed to change a unit mass of the substance from liquid to gas, without a change in temperature
49
wave
a disturbance that transfers energy through vibrations from 1 place to another
50
wavefront
line that joins all peaks of a wave or all identical points on a wave
51
rarefaction
stretched region between successive compressions
52
amplitude
maximum displacement from the rest position or equilibrium position. it is the height of the crest/depth of the trough measured from the normal undisturbed position
53
wavelength
horizontal distance between 2 successive crest/troughs. it is also equal to the distance between 2 successive points which are vibrating in exactly the same way
54
frequency
number of complete waves generated per second
55
period
time taken to generate one complete wave.
56
speed of a wave
distance moved by the wave in 1 second
57
Laws of reflection
1. the incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal at the point of incidence all lie on the same plane 2. the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection
58
Law of refraction
1. the incident ray, the refracted ray and the normal at the point of incidence all lie on the same plane 2. for 2 given media, the ratio sin i / sin r is a constant, where i is the angle of incidence and r is the angle of refraction (Snell's Law)
59
refractive index of a medium
constant ratio of sin i/ sin r for a light ray passing from a vacuum into a given medium OR ratio of the speed of light in vacuum to the speed of light in that medium
60
critical angle
angle of incidence in the optically dense medium for which the angle of refraction in the optically less dense medium is 90 degrees
61
focal length of a lens
distance between its optical centre and principal focus
62
properties of electromagnetic waves
all electromagnetic waves are transverse waves that travel with the same speed in vacuum
63
ultrasound
type of sound wave with frequencies greater than 20kHz
64
laws of electrostatics
like charges repel and unlike charges attract
65
laws of magnetics
like poles repel and unlike poles attract
66
electric field
region in which an electric charge experiences a force
67
electric field line
path a positive charge would take if it is free to move
68
current
rate of flow of charges
69
electromotive force (e.m.f.)
emf of an electrical source is the work done by the source in driving a unit charge around a complete circuit
70
potential difference
p.d. across a component in a circuit is the work done to drive a unit charge through the component
71
resistance
ratio of the potential difference across the component to the current flowing through it
72
Ohm's Law
the current through a metallic conductor is directly proportional to the potential difference across the ends of the conductor, provided the temperature and other physical conditions remain constant
73
transducer
a device that transforms energy from one form to another
74
light-dependent resistor
resistor whose electrical resistance changes as the amount of light falling on itchanges
75
thermistor
thermal resistor whose resistance varies with temperature
76
Faraday's Law
the magnitude of the induced e.m.f. in a conductor is proportional to the rate at which magnetic field lines are cut by the conductor
77
Lenz's Law of electromagnetic induction
the induced current is always in a direction to oppose the change producing it
78
Transformers
used to change the voltage of an alternating current
79
refraction
the change in direction of light when it passes from one medium to another
80
normal
line perpendicular to the reflecting surface or boundary between 2 media
81
Principal axis of a lens
line passing through the optical centre of the lens and perpendicular to the plane of the lens
82
optical centre
midway point between the lens surfaces on its principal axis
83
principal focus
point on the principal axis to which an incident beam parallel to the principal axis converges

'O' Levels (2 decks)

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